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PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL
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2
(iii)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
lack of adequate control; informality and levity; inattention;
unsound rulings during the trial; and (e) that, as a result he produced an unsound
final ruling with inadequate explanation.
Misconduct. The allegation that Mr Justice Barker behaved improperly outside the Court Room during the Carrian trial because:
(a) he attended social functions hosted by
defence laywers; and
(b)
he talked about the case and his view of it indiscreetly.
Even at the expense of seeming unduly formalistic I fear I must ask you to give me your considered view on each of these accusations. You may of course feel that the point about an unsound final ruling has already been dealt with by the hearing of the legal reference by the AG. In giving views on matters of conduct I hope you will be able to advise me on the basis of the views of those who were in a position to know what actually occurred and whose opinion is to be trusted.
In addition, I need a considered judgment, based both on your own view and of those of people in the judiciary and the Bar whose opinions you trust, whether Mr Justice Barker's behaviour since the ending of the Carrian trial is, or is not, a justified cause for complaint about his continuing fitness to be a judge.
Finally, in light of the answers to all the above points, I must ask you for your view of how a tribunal set up under Article XVI of the Letters Patent would be likely to react if the matters alleged by Lord Benson were put to them. Then, on the basis of that judgment, I need your considered views on what precisely should now be done in the case of Mr Justice Barker dealing first with the matter entirely on its own merits and then, if you think it right, taking account of any compassionate points arising from his wife's terminal illness.
I am sorry to ask you to do further work on this case. Some of the points above are dealt with in earlier correspondence. Nevertheless, I think it is right to ask both you and Sir T L Yang, as Chief Justice Designate, to give me your advice in detail and on the same basis. I am sending an identical letter to Sir T L Yang together with a copy of Lord Benson's original allegations in case he does not have a copy handy. If you yourself need a further copy please let me know.
/In fairness
PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL